Is my dog's x-ray showing collapsed trachea or just a fuzzy image?

I agree that Scotch's trachea is severely narrowed on this x-ray, which is likely associated with his coughing. Without seeing another x-ray view (preferably with Scotch on his back), I can't comment about his heart size or shape. There appears to be additional soft tissue opacity around his heart on this x-ray view, which could certainly be partially due to heart enlargement, but could also be associated with pneumonia or a heart base tumor. Scotch has significant dilation of his esophagus as well. It is important to determine the underlying cause of Scotch's cough and chest abnormalities in order to determine the best course of action. A different x-ray view is the next diagnostic step, potentially followed by an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). Based on those results, Scotch may need a course of antibiotics to treat pneumonia, different medications if heart failure is suspected or chemotherapy if a heart base tumor is present. I imagine that your vet suspects congestive heart failure given that he is giving Enalapril and Lasix. I don't understand the need for Gardinal (phenobarbital) in this situation unless Scotch has epilepsy. I hope that all goes well for Scotch!

Has your dog ever had an xray of his throat (windpipe)? If not I highly recommend that you talk to your veterinarian about such an x-ray. Small dogs often suffer from a collapsed trachea (wind pipe) and this can be diagnosed easily with radiographs. Here is some information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/collapsed-trachea-in-dogs/ I hope that helps.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Looking at x-rays that are not viewed with a proper screen can be very difficult, so it can be easy to miss things on these images. I can see the following: 1. The heart does NOT appear to be enlarged 2. The lungs have a slight increased opacity around the peri-hilar region (this can sometimes be associated with heart disease) 3. There is poor detail in the abdomen (this could be due to 'chest settings' and not actually 'real') 4. There is some discospondylosis present in the lumbar vertebrae (bridging between two vertebrae- likely inconsequential) 5. There is no sign of free fluid or free gas in the chest cavity 6. On the second image there is some gas in the esophagus, but this might be artifact of being sedated. 7. On the second image the lungs seem more 'white' then they should be, in the caudo-dorsal region. I recommend that if you are still unsure, have the x-rays sent to a radiologist specialist, as they will get a format they can better manipulate and give you better information about the lung parenchyma (tissue itself of the lungs) which is very hard to evaluate with the images you have provided. I don't see anything too remarkable in these x-rays. If you tell us what is clinically wrong with George we can look at the images again with his clinical picture in mind. Best of luck with George!

Unfortunately the quality of the image coming through to us isn't great. If you are talking about the circular area on the upper right side of the abdomen, this is gas in the stomach and can be normal. If your vet wants to try additional diagnostics but doesn't have ultrasound, they could do a barium study, or they could send the x-rays to a radiologist for review (a veterinary radiologist has extensive training at reviewing x-rays and so can sometimes interpret things a regular vet may not). X-rays can be send electronically to a radiologist for review through various services, so I would ask them if they feel either of these options would be appropriate.

Poor girl. Collapsing trachea is easily diagnosed with a chest radiograph (x-ray). I would request this test to be done. The vet can also assess Princess's heart to make sure she doesn't have underlying heart disease. If she does have collapsing trachea as the underlying cause, then she should be started on medicaitons (cough suppressants, potential steroids, bronchodilators, etc) to take at home to possibly help with this. However these will only provide some relief. The only way to provide a more effective treatment for this condition is surgical correction of the section of collapsed trachea. Here is more information on tracheal collapse in pets. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1527 I hope that you are able to get Princess some relief soon. Best wishes and take care.

It can be tricky to diagnose because tracheal collapse can be present part time and the rest of the time it will not be seen. it is recommended to do a series of XRAYs in order to try and diagnose tracheal collapse.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Generally, tracheal collapse is diagnosed based on many findings but usually at least radiographs or fluoroscopy are needed to make a diagnosis. Even though it is possible that Savanna has tracheal collapse, there are other possible things that she could have such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among other possibilities. This warrants a veterinary evaluation. Good luck and have a great day!